Looking for side hustles to start with no money, but you’re lost at where to even begin? In the pursuit of extra cash, many of us are willing to do some crazy things. If you’ve done any online research into available side hustles, you’ve probably come across various money making schemes – many of which you’ll need to pay for in some way, shape, or form. A startup kit? $70. Signup fees? $40. The ways that you’ll be schemed into using money to earn money are endless.
But what if you could start a side hustle with no money? Good news- you can! There really are side hustles that you can get into without paying a cent. Here are 5 side hustles to start with no money.
5 Side Hustles to Start with No Money
Become A YouTuber
Being a YouTuber, you’ll need to learn how to market your videos and create videos that are both engaging and useful for your audience. To market their videos, most YouTubers make use of their social media – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc, promoting their channels and specific videos across various platforms. You’ll also want to create a brand name for yourself.
If none of this sounds easy, it’s because all in all, it isn’t. Being a YouTuber is a tough job that requires a decent amount of work and time. In addition, the competition on YouTube is fierce, with 400 hours of video being uploaded to the platform every minute. This shouldn’t change your mind, though! Being a YouTuber is a great side hustle that costs little to no money to start. If you have a camera, computer, and a good headset at home, you already have the basic equipment (you can and should upgrade to better equipment later on, though).
On average, people around the world spend a billion hours per day watching videos on YouTube, bringing the platform to be the second largest search engine in the world, as well as the third most visited site worldwide. This being said, it’s a great way to express yourself and make new friends.
Another thing you’ll need to consider when starting a YouTube channel is your channel niche. A niche is a specific topic that you cover on your channel. Although you don’t have to have a niche, YouTube channels with a niche tend to be the most successful. For example, you could opt to start a true crime channel where you cover missing persons cases, murder cases, and general crime-related topics. Or, you could start a cooking channel where you share recipes, try new foods, create cooking and baking tutorials, and discuss nutrition.
Once you have a niche, you’ll have to hone in your consistency. Again, it’s not critical to post videos on a regular basis, however, channels that see the most success tend to have a schedule. One or two videos per week is the most popular schedule. Audiences are more likely to subscribe if you avoid going months between posting new content.
Popular (And Successful) YouTube Channel Niches:
- Lifehacks
- Gaming
- News
- Celebrity gossip
- Top [X] lists
- DIYs/crafts
- Product unboxings
- Cooking/food
- True crime
- Books
- Vlogs
- Beauty
- Pet care
- Electronics
- Fashion
Care For Animals
According to indeed.com, the average pet sitter makes $12-$13 per hour. However, this can vary depending on how many pets you’re caring for and how much you work. In any given month, many dedicated pet sitters make up to $1,000 per month by bonding with animals.
One major benefit of pet sitting as a side hustle is that you can pretty much make your own hours. You can pick up extra shifts if you need more cash or cut back to fewer hours if you’re looking to open your schedule to other things. If you work from home? This benefit is even better because it allows you to sit on the couch and keep an eye on the pet you’re watching while you get work done on your computer, tablet, or phone. As a side note, pet sitting dogs could be especially beneficial. How? Studies show that interacting with dogs can improve your mental health. Dogs are said to reduce stress, depression, and anxiety, and encourage physical activity and socialization.
If you aren’t interested in pet setting, you could consider dog walking as an alternative. There are plenty of busy professionals that would pay for their furry friend to be walked once or twice a week.
A Quick Tip:
Always Meet Pets First!
Before you even consider taking on a pet sitting job, it’s a good idea to meet the pet in question. You’ll want to avoid taking on pets who are mean and/or aggressive, as not only are you putting yourself in danger, but the pet in question is also a legal liability. This being said, it’s also important to remember that, in the case of dogs particularly, pet sitting in their home means encroaching on their territory. This means that the dog may be standoffish and have an immediate instinct to protect its home when you enter, which could make pet sitting them for hours on an end a difficulty if you’ve never met them before.
I hope you found these tips useful and are ready to dig into launching your own pet sitting side hustle! Animal lovers have found it a great way to make extra money while getting in some quality time with pets.
Be An Ebook Author On Amazon
Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is Amazon’s ebook publishing service. It makes it easy for indie authors to publish and sell their own digital novels on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, and many other Amazon country sites. One of the best parts about publishing through KDP is that the service is free – there’s no charge for uploading. For each digital file sold, authors get to keep 30-70% of the royalties, with this percentage varying depending on whether they use KDP or KDP Select.
Where most digital retailers use PDF or HTML, KDP uses a format called “mobi” instead. Although this file name sounds strange, it is designed to work on all Kindle devices. When you’re uploading your digital works, you can upload them in a number of file formats including ePub, Doc, and RTF. However, it’s usually recommended to upload the files in a mobi format, as doing so ensures that your charts, images, and other particulars that are featured within your work stay intact. Thankfully, Amazon doesn’t require its digital works to be digital exclusive. This means that you, as the offer, are permitted to sell your Amazon book anywhere you want.
KDP Select
KDP Select is KDP’s older, more sophisticated cousin. Using this service connects you with the marketing muscles within Amazon. This is fantastic and can be a huge benefit. It can, however, be slightly restrictive as using this service requires you to give the company digital exclusivity of your work for 90 days after upload. In return for this permission, KDP Select pays authors closer to 70% royalties and includes the work on the Amazon Prime lending library. Books in the lending library earn their authors a percentage of the amount paid by Amazon Prime members per book rental.
As an example, if Prime members pay $1 million and 300,000 titles are rented out during the month of May with your book being lent out 1,500 times, you’d receive 5% of the royalties (roughly $5,000).
KDP Select also allows its members to make their book available for discount or entirely free for 5 days as a promotional campaign. Its during this time that the book shows up on the Amazon sales page, which works to drive more renters to your title. Although you won’t earn anything from these promotional sales, the buzz that accumulates surrounding your title can be a needed boost when it comes to launching a new work.
So, if you’re equipped with a love of writing and a passion for making money, becoming an Amazon author might just be a great side hustle.
Online Teaching
You’ve probably heard of remote teaching and online teaching – but what, exactly, is this side hustle? In its most basic form, you’re a virtual teacher who teaches students (“classes”) over the internet. You can use platforms like Google and Skype, or opt to invest in specially designed platforms for online teaching.
Through this method of teaching, you, as the teacher, have very little real life interaction with any of your students, which can be beneficial for you if you’re a shy person. However, this can also be an issue for someone who prefers face to face communication. When teaching an online class, your schedule is flexible. Classes are held all over the world every day, with thousands going on every minute. All you have to do is decide what and how often you want to teach.
Being an online teacher is a highly enjoyable side hustle, but it’s not as easy as it seems. Those who teach from home have to be organized, motivated, and disciplined, as they are their own boss and there’s no one to remind them of important details. In addition, the students cannot be reinforced manually or disciplined in any of the traditional means.
Teaching Requirements
If we’ve caught your attention, you’re probably wondering what this job requires from you. Well, there are no set standards. Requirements depend on whether you’re working through a contracting agent or as a freelancer, what you’re teaching, and to what audience you’re teaching your materials. This being said, there are plenty of open positions for online teachers at any given time.
While it’s impossible to list every requirement, here are a few of the most commonly sought after requirements for being an English teacher online.
- Native level English speaking
- ESL teaching certificate
- Webcam
- Microphone and headphones
- High speed internet connection
Cleaning
Cleaning is perhaps the easiest side hustle to get into. Everyone needs their house cleaned and many don’t have the time to do it, which is where you come in. Offering house cleaning services can be a great source of income. You can choose to do one-time jobs or to have weekly, monthly, or bi-monthly recurring clients, giving you tons of freedom in terms of scheduling. Alternatively, you could break into the office cleaning business. This, however, might require you to be bondable and have insurance.
Some cleaners have their own uniforms. This is never a bad idea, but isn’t necessary when you’re first starting out or if cleaning is just a casual job. If you want to have a uniform, there’s no going wrong with a basic combo – black pants and a colored t-shirt. To keep you uniform looking polished, you could layer it with an apron. When it comes to uniforms, the key is to be consistent if you do choose to have one. Clients will get to know your signature look, upping your professionalism.
To find clients, online is a good place to go, as there are dozens of places to find jobs. Being referred by family and friends to new clients if always helpful, as well. Once you’ve completed a job, let the person know that you’re taking on new clients and you never know – you might end up being referred to the client’s friends or family. A tip here is to consider offering discounts in relation to referrals.
Speaking of discounts, what do you charge for house cleaning? There’s no straight answer. It depends on your experience, what supplies you use and whether you supply them or the client supplies them, and how far you have to commute to get the cleaning done. What kind of cleaning – deep, surface, moving- is also a factor.
Generally, house cleaning services range from $15-$25 per hour, with the higher prices being set aside for deep cleaning and move in/out cleaning.
Types of House Cleaning
- Surface
As its name suggests, surface cleaning is simply cleaning the surface of household objects. For example, cleaning the counter top, table top, railings etc. Surface cleaning is quick and easy and can also include vacuuming, mopping, and sweeping.
- Deep
Deep cleaning takes surface cleaning a level up. It means that instead of ignoring the insides of the cupboards and only cleaning the exterior, you’ll open the doors up and give the insides a wipe.
It covers areas of the home that aren’t typically covered such as the washing machine, oven, and inside the cupboards.
- Move in/out
Moving cleaning is where the big money comes from. This kind of cleaning is often the most time consuming as it combines both deep and surface cleaning. It’s often a lot harder to complete due to the fact that you’re potentially ridding a home of years of build-up.
This kind of cleaning involves sweeping, mopping, wiping, disinfecting, vacuuming, washing the walls and possibly the ceiling, and tidying the inside of appliances. Moving cleaning is detail oriented and takes time and patience.
Final Thoughts
Anything can be a side hustle. However, for many of us, side hustles that can be started with little to no investment are the most feasible option. With people paying for services left, right, and center, all it takes is a bit of creativity to turn your low-budget passion into a part time job. If you’re struggling with ideas, the side hustles mentioned above are a good place to start. Hope you enjoyed this post on the 5 side hustles to start with no money, and if you have any other suggestions let us know in the comments below!
